For as long as I've been in business I've been fascinated with understanding why we choose one brand over another.

Today It's got to be the most focused question being posed in every corporate boardroom around the globe, if it isn't then those companies will quickly to fade into economic history.

When we think about a brand we think in emotional terms, this is because a brand isn't real, it's an intangible thing that we can either relate to or not, if it's the latter it's an extremely big challenge for a brand to sway you towards them.

Brand alignment isn't a fancy marketing thing, it's focus is making sure that what your brand 'promises' is really delivered and consistently 'experienced', this also applies to the brand you were born with, which is YOU.

We see too many people and brands trying to be someone, or something they aren't, which leads to confusion for themselves, and lack of authenticity to those around them. 

For a brand to be authentic you have to look at the culture of that brand and ask the big question 'what's you're story'?

No amount of funds will buy you loyal customers or employees, culture beats branding every day. Culture is what allows your employees and customers to become advocates of what it is your brand says it does, so if you have a broken culture no amount of 'employee advocacy' tactical activity will resonate internally or externally - it's all just wasted effort.

Your employees are an extension of your culture and your brand, if you don't invest and train them how to use their voice on social media it's a reflection on your culture, which inevitably impacts on your brand.

One of the key reasons people (employees and customers) leave a company is because the reality of the 'brand' promise doesn't live up to the reality of the experience. 

So a high employee churn and a poor customer satisfaction reputation is a clear sign that the internal view of the brand is most certainly out of step with the external view. 

This in turn creates wasted time, effort, and of course real direct/indirect cost on behalf of the brand, it's employees and customers alike, which is where I tend to spend most of my time during brand re-positioning projects.

However, when a brand is completely aligned both internally and externally this is where I see the magic happen. 

To find out more feel free to drop me a note.